Top court told of Guantanamo rights violations

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian investigators violated the
rights of terrorism suspect Omar Khadr when they interrogated
him at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyers told
Canada's top court on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court of Canada is examining whether the
Canadian government must provide Khadr with any information
relevant to him. But Wednesday's hearing broadened to consider
whether the whole U.S. process at its Guantanamo Bay prison on
Cuba violated human rights.

The United States accuses Khadr of throwing a grenade that
killed one U.S. soldier and wounded another during a firefight
at an al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002. Khadr, 15 at
the time and now 21, was shot twice in the back. He has since
been held at the Guantanamo naval base.

Officials with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
interviewed Khadr at the base, where he and more than 300
non-Americans accused of links to al Qaeda or associated
Islamist groups are being held.

"Canada should have refrained from going down there and
participating in this violation of its young citizen's rights
under international law," Khadr's lawyer, Nathan Whitling, told
the court.

"They should not have participated in this process. They
should not have taken advantage of his vulnerability."

Arguing that Khadr could receive an unfair trial because of
information Canada shared with the United States after
interviewing him, Whitling said Ottawa must hand over all
information it has on him to help his defense.

Pointing to the serious charges against Khadr, the Canadian
government said national security interests required the
protection of its information.
Continued...